Will Cody Rhodes Fall Into WWE’s Midcard When He Returns?
One of the major fan-made storylines following WrestleMania 41 is the future of Cody Rhodes. Rhodes was the Undisputed WWE Champion for over a year following his historic win over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, but that glory has now come to an end. With him losing to John Cena at this year’s Grandest Stage of Them All, his time as a main eventer is now being questioned. Fans are now trying to determine whether Rhodes will stay on the top of the card or if he will fall back down to the midcard, like where he was during his first WWE run.
Ever since coming back to the WWE at WrestleMania 39, Cody Rhodes has been involved in the WWE’s main event scene. His return feud was against Seth Rollins, a rivalry that saw him win 3-0, but he was then forced to miss a majority of 2022 with an injury. When Rhodes came back at the 2023 Royal Rumble, he did so in dominating fashion as he won the men’s Rumble to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Despite losing at that year’s Mania, he repeated history, becoming a two-time Royal Rumble winner in 2024, which led to him defeating Reigns at WrestleMania 41.
Cody Rhodes did not have a lackluster reign by any means, but it certainly did not live up to expectations. Roman Reigns had the longest title reign in modern WWE history, so whoever ended that reign was going to need a historic run, which Rhodes simply didn’t have. His rivalry against A.J. Styles did not get personal enough for fans to get truly invested in it, and Solo Sikoa was not an intriguing opponent for a world title match. His only feud that can be considered great during this reign was against Kevin Owens, though a ladder match may not have been the best way to end a rivalry that was so heated.
Although John Cena is considered the greatest of all time by most, and there is no shame in losing to him, the abrupt ending of Cody Rhodes’ title reign made it feel as if the WWE somewhat gave up on him. It’s somewhat unlikely that Rhodes will fall into the midcard scene when he returns, but there are also not too many fresh feuds remaining for him amongst main eventers. It’s also important to note that in the summer of 2023, Rhodes found himself in the midcard for a few weeks and was battling the likes of The Miz, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio. If the WWE does not have an immediate feud for Rhodes upon his return on May 16th, it might be a while until he faces off against a marquee name on the roster.
